Jeff Russell Delivers

Sports Forum - Other voices - Commentary on topical issues

May 30, 1993|By Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe

OK, I was wrong. Red Auerbach didn't want Bob Cousy for the Boston Celtics and and I didn't want Jeff Russell on the Boston Red Sox. Sitting here in Detroit two months later, it's easy to see the blunder of dismissing Russell based on winter rumors and spring training ineffectiveness. Since the first day of this season, Russell has been nothing less than sensational. He is throwing pitches to right-handed hitters that Rogers Hornsby could not hit.

He has 14 strikeouts and only one walk in 15 innings. He is 11 for 11 in save opportunities.

A quarter of the season has passed and it's time to admit the mistake. . . .

Russell can't be this good the rest of the way. But he is something you rarely see. He is a baseball player who is - relatively speaking - underpaid. And he is a player who must perform well in order to get what he feels he deserves. He actually has to work for his money. What a concept.

It has brought out the best in him. And it has made me look like a dope.